Luxury Packaging
Enhancing the opening experience By Ian Beresford, head of marketing and development at Essentra Tapes.
P
ackaging is integral to the experience of consuming a luxury product. The key word for converters there is ‘experience’. When developing solutions for luxury products, converters must look beyond striking aesthetics – as important as they are – and also consider how they can turn their packaging into an irresistible experience for the end user.
IT’S ALL IN A FEELING
More than any other type of packaging, luxury packs rely on the feeling they evoke in customers. Everything about the luxury space hinges on creating this air of opulence and exclusivity - from a brand’s identity to its pricing and to the intricate details of the packaging design. Several elements weave together to conjure up a sort of spell that convinces a consumer to buy a product that they might not need, but that they can’t resist. However, the explosion of ‘masstige’ brands means consumers have become accustomed to a higher level of quality from all packaging. Enhanced packaging techniques that were once the preserve of the luxury sector - like foiling and tactile varnishes - are increasingly common even in budget price brackets. Converters may find it more challenging to provide customers in the luxury space with the point-of-difference they require as the gap in aesthetic quality continues to narrow.
The whole point of a luxury product – the thing that gives consumers that exclusive feeling – is the perception of quality at any cost. If a disruptive startup masstige beauty brand is just as appealing on-shelf as a heritage luxury equivalent, then all of a sudden, that all-important perception of exclusivity around the latter starts to unravel. It doesn’t take much for the magic spell to be broken.
This is why, now more than ever, it’s important for every element of luxury packaging to be enhanced – inside and out.
IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE THAT COUNTS In this environment, how consumers get to the inside of a pack is every bit as important as what’s on the outside. This can present something of a challenge for brands and their packaging suppliers, as it expands the role of packaging beyond the point of purchase. Luxury packaging has to be more than just a pretty face – it has to be something that continues to positively
GETTING INTO IT
An easy-open tear tape will go a long way towards making this aim a reality. Tear tapes eliminate any frustration in the opening process, turning it into an effortlessly satisfying experience for the consumer and eliminating the infamous ‘wrap rage’.
Tear tapes enable converters to offer their customers complete control over the opening experience. Essentra Tapes’ Rippatape®, for example, has been synonymous with easy opening of corrugate and fibreboard packaging for over 60 years. It provides a quick and clean opening tear without the need for consumers to attack the packaging with blades or tools and heightens brand impact as it means any internal or external print and design features
engage a consumer post-purchase. The opening experience is a vital part of this process. Luxury packaging should strive to be more than just an attractive, protective façade that ends up in the bin after opening. It can enhance the experience of purchasing, opening, and consuming the product. This experience can help create a lifelong connection between brands and consumers – something every converter should aim to provide to their luxury customers.
are not accidentally damaged. Not only that but Rippatape® can also be printed, giving an additional messaging space to communicate with the consumer as they engage with the opening experience.
With tear tape, you don’t just need to think inside the box. For flexible packaging applications, our Supastrip® range can become part of your brand identity creating additional stand-out on-shelf appeal. Supastrip® can be clear or printed, and for that next level of luxury, photo- quality designs or holographic materials can be incorporated.
This can be used for aesthetic purposes, adding a premium glossy highlight to each pack in the same way that foiling can. However, it can also double as a seal of authenticity and tamper protection. At a time when up to 10%[1] of all branded goods sold worldwide are estimated to be counterfeit – with luxury brands a particular target for forgery – the power of tear tapes as a brand authentication tool should not be overlooked.
Both tape solutions are available in sustainable, high-performance materials to satisfy the sustainable luxury megatrend. Supastrip® PCR, is a tear tape first, being made from a film using a 70% post consumer recycled plastic, and we are launching a new, game changing sustainable Rippatape® in November. Both tape solutions deliver environmental benefits without compromising on performance, allowing converters to meet the sustainability demands of their customers and the broader luxury sector.
TOTAL TAPE SOLUTIONS
When combined with clever packaging design and techniques like both-sides printing, it’s possible to craft a guided opening experience as the consumer pulls open their tear tape, revealing brand messaging or other details that build a sense of anticipation as the tape gently unveils the pack’s contents.
Executed well, this can turn the act of opening a luxury product into a lifelong memory and acts as a point of difference between the best and the rest.
As tape applicators can be slotted into existing production lines with relative ease and minimal disruption, tear tapes are becoming a must-have feature for the most must-have luxury brands.
Xwww.essentra.com/en/capabilities/tapes
24
November 2022
www.convertermag.com
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